United States Private Colleges Ranked by Lowest Acceptance Rate

Below is a ranking of the 1198 private colleges in the United States with the lowest acceptance rate for freshman undergraduate applications. California Institute of Technology leads the list by accepting 3% of high school students that applied.

Acceptance rate is a measure of the competitiveness of a school. Lower acceptance rates are more competitive and may require a higher GPA, SAT/ACT score, and other factors to be considered for admission.

List of United States Private Colleges Ranked by Lowest Acceptance Rate
College Acceptance Rate

Scranton, Pennsylvania

100%

Haverhill, Massachusetts

100%

Central, South Carolina

100%

Sumter, South Carolina

100%

Denmark, South Carolina

100%

Mission, South Dakota

100%

Nashville, Tennessee

100%

Dayton, Tennessee

100%

Cleveland, Tennessee

100%

Gallatin, Tennessee

100%

Bristol, Tennessee

100%

Jackson, Tennessee

100%

Garland, Texas

100%

Arlington, Texas

100%
100%

San Antonio, Texas

100%
100%

Tyler, Texas

100%

This list is updated annually based on the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Last updated: August 2026

Data source: IPEDS 2025 survey for academic year 2024/2025 - National Center for Education Statistics.